Winter makes comeback with icy blast from Arctic
After spring sunshine, Highlands awake to a blanket of fresh snow
SCOTLAND has been bathed with sunshine this spring, with last month also one of the driest Aprils on record.
But this week the country is set to shiver as temperatures plunge, with parts of the country even waking up to snow yesterday.
The wintry weather was caused by a cold air mass from the Arctic sweeping across the country on Saturday night.
In the Highlands some areas were covered in a blanket of snow at dawn yesterday and further snowfall and heavy frosts are forecast for the next few days.
Lambs got a dusting of snow at
Tomintoul in Banffshire and there were wintry conditions on the A9 between Inverness and Aviemore.
The scene at Nethy Bridge, in Inverness-shire, was more reminiscent of January than the first bank holiday weekend in May.
Steven Keates of the Met Office said: ‘This has been an exceptionally cold air mass for the time of year. With winds coming straight from the Arctic, it is not surprising that we have seen a bit of snowfall, even to lower levels in the North of Scotland.
‘Even on Sunday afternoon, wintry showers have been looking a bit perky in Highland region and even into Grampian. When you have had a run of warm and sunny days, you tend to forget about winter. That’s why this has come as a shock to the system.’
This morning temperatures in Glasgow could be down to -2C, with some sheltered glens seeing lows of -5C. It marks a stark contrast to a high of 14C (57F) in Glasgow last Monday.
Trunk road operator BEAR warned of plunging temperatures last night.
On Twitter it said: ‘Another cold night ahead in the North West. We’ll have gritters out treating routes in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
‘Wintry showers are expected on our northern routes during the next 24 hours. Please only travel if your journey is essential.’
Meanwhile, Scottish Water has asked people to preserve supplies as the coronavirus lockdown has led to a marked increase in the amount of water people are using at home.
On average, each person in Scotland gets through just over 36 gallons (165 litres) of water each day, through drinking, showers, washing hands, cooking, cleaning and gardening.
But April’s figure rose sharply to just over 43 gallons (198 litres) per day, the highest figure recorded by Scottish Water.
Environmental watchdog the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has also placed mainland Scotland on an ‘early warning’ for drought conditions by summer.
Rainfall was already low in March and April was the third driest on record, with just over an inch of rain all month.